Ethnocultural Aspects of Suicide in Young People: A Systematic Literature Review Part 1: Rates and Methods of Youth Suicide

The study of ethnocultural aspects of suicidal behaviour is, at the moment, still a neglected area. The relatively few studies available are mainly on adults; young people usually are not examined separately. The authors reviewed 82 publications on youth suicide that have addressed, to different degrees, the ethnicity/culture of the population studied. Following a description of the main characteristics shared by these researches (e.g., predominance of studies on Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics; lack of qualitative methodology, etc.), the rates and methods of youth suicide, from a cross-cultural perspective are discussed.